‘Tick, Tick... Boom!’: Andrew Garfield Says Movie Is ‘Biggest Privilege Of Artistic Life'

Andrew Garfield considers the musical drama “Tick, Tick... Boom!” a special turning point in his career having been given the privilege to play the role of the late “Rent” composer and playwright Jonathan Larson.

In the American Film Institute (AFI) opening gala in Hollywood, the actor said he considers the Netflix musical drama "the biggest privilege" of his artistic life to play “a tremendous artist who was here for a short burst of time and left us so much to wonder at and be healed by.”

The "Social Network" star praised Larson for his devotion to his craft even though the latter never saw his masterpiece on Broadway as he died from a heart issue at the age of 35 in 1996.

“He asks questions that go beyond what it means to be an artist, he asks questions about how to live. Like, what do we do with the short amount of time that we have here? He was surrounded by death, and I think subconsciously aware of his own shortness of life,” Garfield said.

“He is the quintessential uncompromising, devoted artist for the revolution. He was banging the drum before it was cool to bang a drum, and he was banging a drum in a time when a drum needed to be banged,” he added.

Larson suffered from a rare heart condition called Marfan syndrome which went undiagnosed although he complained of severe chest pain and dizziness prior to his demise, a Variety report said.

The brilliant lyricist and playwright did not live to see “Rent” win four Tony Awards including best musical. It also captured a Pulitzer Prize for drama and mounted over 5,000 performances on Broadway. “Tick, Tick... Boom!” refers to a title of a solo musical Larson wrote that details his own existential struggle as a man who is obsessed with making art but lacks finances to support it.

The 38-year-old actor said that while “Tick, Tick... Boom!” is a film that honors Larson, it holds a special place in his heart because it is his personal tribute to his late mother.

"This film, she’s in every frame for me," Garfield told ET's Matt Cohen in an exclusive interview.

Right before the shooting of “Tick, Tick... Boom!” and while filming his upcoming movie, “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye,” Garfield’s mother, Lyn, died of pancreatic cancer.

“There was an endless sorrow in having to say goodbye to my mother but I know she’s here. I know she’s here,” he added in his interview with ET.

The “Amazing Spider-Man” star also told The Hollywood Reporter earlier that he did not want the movie to end because the movie became an opportunity to “put my grief into art, into this creative act.”

“Tick, Tick... Boom!” opens in select theaters Friday and premieres on Netflix on Nov. 19.